Kiplagat takes 2:08 course record victory in Seoul

William Kiplagat (KEN) recorded his sixth career sub-2:10 marathon when winning the JoongAng Seoul Marathon on Sunday (6) in his season's best of 2:08:27, a course record. Seoul is a rare city to have two international marathons within each year, one in March (Dong-A Marathon) and one in November.

The winning time for the 33-year-old is also the fourth fastest of his career, and his best  since 2003. His personal best of 2:06:50 was set in Amsterdam in 1999. In 2003, Kiplagat ran 2:07 twice (Rotterdam 1st and Amsterdam 4th).

Kiplagat destroyed a very strong field in Seoul which included a dozen athletes who had previously run under 2:10, in particular 35-year-old Estonian Pavel Loskutov who was looking for his third straight win here, having won the last two editions with fast times of 2:09:15 (2003) and 2:09:34 (2004). But the Estonian was unable to meet the challenge this time and finished in fourth place in a season's best of 2:12:12.

Kiplagat, who had a run 2:12:04 twice in 2004 set a course record in Seoul breaking Loskutov's 2:09:15 clocking from 2003. Last year Kiplagat finished seventh in this marathon.

Ethiopian Asfaws Gashaw Melese, who had set a personal best of 2:09:24 in Paris earlier this season, took second place in 2:09:31, with James Rotich (KEN) finishing in third in his season's best of 2:11:57.

Mirko Jalava for the IAAF

1 William Kiplagat KEN 2:08:27
2 Asfaws Gashaw Melese ETH 2:09:31
3 James Rotich KEN 2:11:57
4 Pavel Loskutov EST 2:12:12
5 Wilson Onsare KEN 2:13:12
6 Rodgers Rop KEN 2:13:25
7 Zebedayo Bayo TAN 2:13:29
8 Thomas Omwenga KEN 2:14:12
9 Lee Myong-Seun KOR 2:15:14
10 Hyung Jae-Young KOR 2:19:17

Women

1 Kwon Geun-Young KOR 2:49:09